Okay folks, with 2013 officially behind us, let’s take this time to look back at what a musical year it was.

Every artist took it upon themselves to release an album or singles because nowadays an artist or singer’s relevance is dependent on continuous music releases. But not just music; it has to be good music. Talking of good, let’s look at the rappers and singers who have had quite a good 2013. With a plethora of musicians who have had absolute success this year, it was not an easy task picking just five.

DRAKE

This year Drake proved once again that the world is his oyster. When “Started from the Bottom” became an irresistible omnipresent hit, it became obvious that the OVO boss’ Nothing was the Same album would be a huge success. The album broke Drake’s first week sales record, selling a whopping 658, 000 copies, and it has since surpassed the platinum mark. The album also garnered five 2014 Grammy nominations. According to Twitter, Drizzy was 2013’s most talked about MC on the social networking site after having been mentioned in approximately 52, 202, 000 tweets! Now that’s power!

Miley Cyrus

She ventured into hip hop and …err indeed twerking. The starlet became a lightning rod for controversy, with critics attacking her from all angles but she couldn’t care less, twerking her way to the top. Her hit singles for the year included “We Can’t Stop”, “23” and the overly popular “Wrecking Ball”. The former Disney star’s hard work didn’t go unnoticed as she was named artist of the year by MTV. She took first and second place on Vevo’s top 10 most viewed music videos of 2013 with the aforementioned “Wrecking Ball” and “ We Can’t Stop”.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

This duo has been riding on the success of their 2012 album, The Heist. Who could forget “Thrift Shop”, “Can’t Hold Us” and the same sex marriage anthem, “Same Love”? Some of their achievements last year included the BET “Best Group Award”, “Youtube Breakthrough” award, seven 2014 Grammy nominations, and many others. They were also ranked 14th place on Forbes’ Cash Kings 2013 after racking up $9 million over the past financial year.

Reason

Yes, local musicians have been shining too. Reason is one artist who has been working hard all year. His work ethic is like no other; perhaps there are only two words to perfectly describe it: no sleep. We wait in anticipation for his sophomore album which is set to be released this year.

Jay-Z

They say numbers don’t lie. No doubt, rappers enviously watched Jay’s album sell a million copies before it was even released, thanks to the Samsung deal. Jigga leads the 2014 Grammy nominations with nine. He and wifey, Bey, topped Forbes’ List of Highest-Earning Celebrity Couples, with combined earnings of $95 million. He won’t stop. And we don’t blame him.